The gap between London prices and rural values has never been wider. City dwellers should make hay — we choose the best buys

Slideshow: Top 10 country houses for sale

Berkshire £4m In Bucklebury — home to the Duchess of Cambridge’s family — the Manor is a Grade II-listed seven-bedroom Georgian house with almost 19 acres of grounds, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has three receptions, a library and a large dual-aspect kitchen/breakfast room, with French windows leading to the terrace and gardens. There is also a modern 35ft steel-framed garden room, an outdoor pool and a tennis court. Planning permission has been granted for a detached flat and garage. It is four miles from Thatcham Agent: Savills; 020 7016 3780, savills.co.uk They say: A glorious position, with breathtaking views We say: The interiors may be too modern for some country-house lovers

Photograph: Savills

Something is stirring in the country. Since property prices peaked and began
to fall back in 2007, the market in the provinces has been, at best,
lifeless, while London prices have been rising, creating a chasm in the
value of like-for- like property. Yet there are signs that the country
market — in the southeast at least — is gradually moving again.

“There is a general feeling that the price gap between town and country is
about as large as it is ever going to be,” says Rupert Sweeting, head of the
country-house department at Knight Frank estate agency. “So now is the time
to move to the country, if you want to benefit from the difference in
prices.”

Research carried out by Knight Frank shows how great this disparity has
become. A “typical” five-bedroom, 2,000 sq ft family house in central London
now costs a staggering £2,720,999, while you can buy